The field of the present invention is handheld emergency tools such as handheld flashlights for emergency use.
Flashlights are commonly used in emergency situations. For example, firefighters or other emergency personnel use flashlights to provide illumination at an emergency site. Such illumination is not only needed at night, but also can be necessary during daylight hours for emergencies occurring in dark areas such as a dark or smoke-filled building. Since flashlights are often used, emergency personnel frequently routinely carry a flashlight or have one at hand.
Many flashlights are known. For example, commonly invented and assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,904,415 discloses a flashlight with a gas permeable membrane and battery polarization carrier. This patent is incorporated herein by reference as if set forth in its entirety herein.
Emergency or rescue personnel (such as firefighters or police) often are required to break glass while responding to an emergency. For example, rescue personnel responding to an automobile accident may need to break a vehicle window or windshield to reach a trapped victim. Breaking vehicle glass can be difficult as vehicle windows typically are constructed of a tempered glass. Tempered glass is also often used in other instances that may present barriers in emergency situations, such as in sliding glass doors, entry door panes, and windows close to an exit. Thus, there are situations in which emergency personnel need to break tempered glass in areas that do not involve vehicles.
Tempered glass typically is constructed to deform into small glass fragments when broken. In contrast, non-tempered glass frequently will shatter into relatively sharp shards when broken, which may present hazards to victims and rescue workers in emergency situations. Thus, the use of tempered glass minimizes the risk of injury due to broken glass. Tempering also provides an increased level of impact resistance for glass.
In one example, the tempering process deposits or creates a thin layer over a glass pane (such as 0.0020-0.0030 inch), which tends to resist breakage. In order to break a pane of temper glass cleanly and safely, this thin layer typically needs to be penetrated.
Emergency personnel typically use a hammer or axe to break tempered glass. Of course, emergency personnel must use extreme caution when swinging a hammer or axe through a window so as to avoid injury to themselves, victims or property from glass fragments, or from the hammer or axe alone. For example, swinging an axe or hammer concentrates significant inertial forces in the tool""s head. When the axe or hammer impacts a windowpane, the substantial inertia in the hammer or axe may propel the hammer or axe toward or into a victim or property and may strike on the other side. Because of the potential for injury due to hammers and axes, rescue personnel may feel constrained to use restraint when breaking glass to avoid injuries to people or property.
It is desirable that emergency personnel carry equipment to handle diverse situations. In order to diminish the load such people must carry, it is desirable to provide a single device to perform multiple tasks, thereby reducing the number of devices that must be carried.
Various multi-function emergency tools have been provided. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,657,543 discloses an emergency tool having a seatbelt cutting knife and a spring-loaded spike in a single tool. This tool is specifically designed for use during a car rescue. Rescue personnel can use the knife to cut a victim free from a seat belt. The tool also is designed to provide a glass breaking function. This device suffers a disadvantage in that in order to break glass, the user must compress and cock a glass-breaking spike. The device is placed against a glass pane and the user releases a trigger. Thereby the glass-breaking spike is propelled into the glass driven by a spring force. This tool is especially complicated to use for breaking multiple panes of glass in succession, as may be required if multiple car or house windows must be broken. An additional disadvantage is that the extra time required to load, cock, and trigger the device might hinder a rescue operation.
A multiple-use emergency escape tool is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,097,599. This tool combines a scissors with a retractable spike driver. The spike is initially loaded into a retraction member and held there under spring tension. In use, an exposed end of the spike is pressed against a window glass. Then, the driver is propelled by the spring force toward the spike. The force of the driver is transferred to the spike, causing an impulse onto the window glass. This device suffers a disadvantage in that the spike driver must be reset for each use of the tool. In an emergency situation, a user can be occupied with resetting the driver for each window to be broken, a task requiring time and some skill.
Another multiple-use tool is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,952,916. This tool has a light bulb housed in a main body for emitting warning light or for providing illumination as a flashlight. A percussion imparting member is mounted on the head of the signaling device adjacent the light bulb, which can be used for breaking glass. The percussion imparting member extends radially from the housing of the signaling device at a point near the light bulb. Thus, the head of the signaling device acts as a hammer for breaking a window glass. A disadvantage is that the percussion member extends from the head of the signaling device, so a user needs to use some skill to make sure the percussion imparting member squarely strikes the window glass while not injuring the light bulb or transparent lens window. By using the device as a glass hammer, the user risks damaging or ruining the light bulb, the filament in the light bulb, or breaking its lens. A further disadvantage of this device is that the head is an area of low mass concentration, because batteries tend to have a higher mass, and in this device are located away from the glass hammer.
Accordingly, there exists a need for an emergency tool having multiple capabilities that can break glass in an efficient manner.
The present invention alleviates to a great extent the disadvantages of the known glass breaking devices by providing a multi-function emergency tool that efficiently breaks glass, while also providing illumination. In the preferred embodiment, a flashlight is provided which includes a housing having a lamp end and a rear distal end, and, typically, a gripping area therebetween. Batteries are preferably housed to the rear of the lamp end. A mounting area supporting a glass breaking member is provided on the housing at the rear end.
In a one embodiment, the mounting area is generally perpendicular to a length direction of the housing. In use for breaking glass, the flashlight is propelled rear-end first (i.e. in a length or axial direction) towards a target (i.e., a glass pane) so that the glass breaking element strikes the glass pane at an impact point. Furthermore, using this device, inertial energy of the flashlight and flashlight batteries is concentrated in the axial direction, assisting in propelling the glass breaker into the pane of glass. One of the advantages of the present invention is that the breaking force imparted in the length direction of the flashlight can be positively and relatively easily controlled by the user. In such a manner, the user is able to break a pane of glass in a relatively safe and controlled manner.
In another embodiment, the mounting area is transverse to the length direction. A glass breaking element is mounted, with a striking surface extending out one or both sides of the flashlight. In use for breaking glass, the flashlight is propelled rear-end first in a hammer-type motion towards a target (i.e., a glass pane) so that the glass breaking element strikes the glass pane at an impact point. Furthermore, using this device, inertial energy of the flashlight and flashlight batteries is concentrated in the direction of motion, assisting in propelling the glass breaker into the pane of glass.
An advantage of the present invention is that the inertial mass of the emergency device (i.e. flashlight) is concentrated at the striking surface. One way this is achieved is by placing the batteries in close proximity to the rear (i.e. distal) end of the flashlight, rather than displaced forward as in known spring loaded flashlights. In such a manner, the user is able to break a pane of glass in a relatively efficient and controlled manner. Moreover, the number of devices to be carried by emergency personnel can be reduced because an efficient glass breaking capability is provided on a flashlight, rendering a hammer or axe unnecessary in many applications. In addition, because the striking surface is at the far end of the device from the illumination source (light bulb), the potential for damage to the illumination source (including the bulb filament) is reduced.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be appreciated from review of the following detailed description of the invention, along with the accompanying figures in which like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout.